“Now it happened, when
Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak
to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him,
saying, “You must die!" (v.8)
Messages of
judgment in an age of tolerance are about as welcome as rain at a ball game. Yet
Jeremiah, even with his countrymen threating to kill him, stood in the court of
the house of the LORD, to speak to all the citizens of Judah the words the LORD
commanded him to speak (vv.7-9). And the LORD protected him through the elders
of the city who said, “This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken to
us in the name of the LORD our God” (v.16).
And so it
may be with us when we “stand and deliver” the message God has placed on our
hearts for others. While in this country no one will try and put us to death
for delivering it (not yet anyway), we could face any number of negative
reactions. Does that mean we should be silent and ignore the prompting of the
Spirit in our lives? Absolutely not! For just as the LORD protected his servant
Jeremiah from death, he will protect you and I from harm as well.
Therefore,
when the Holy Spirit is prompting you, stand and deliver God’s message in love and do not be ashamed, for the LORD your God will be with you.
The Truth: “So
shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing
for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
